First off - if you are constantly LAGGING - seeing other players running in place, movement is jerky or your rubber banding...switch lobbies. Something is wrong with your connection to the host at that point. If it continues all the time, you need to make sure your console is in a DMZ on your router (so all ports are open for the game) and if you are using wireless, you are better off (regardless of signal strength or router brand / speed etc) using a wired connection. If you can't get a wire there, look for something called a "Powerline Network Adapter."

These adapters simply transfer data through your existing house electrical wiring. A decent set can be had for $40 or so. Plug both of them into the same wall socket. Pair them. Stick one in a power outlet (not a surge suppressor) near your router. Run an ethernet cable to the adapter from your router. Stick the other in a power outlet near the console. Run another ethernet cable from it to the console.

I have worked in IT for years - so I am familiar with networking theory etc. It doesn't matter if you have 500MB down for your ISP internet speed. Wireless technology isn't there yet. The limiting factor is almost NEVER the internet service itself. Traditional (read console wireless adapters) connections are 2.4GHZ, which is used by a ton of other routers and other devices. 5GHZ can work better to a point, but if the console wireless adapter doesn't use it, it doesn't help you.

I rarely had lag or connection issues running wireless with my PS3 and online gaming. DMZ was setup, static IP, using relible and fast DNS servers etc. PS4 seemed to have a bit more, depending on the game. I upgraded to powerline adapters mainly for HD movie and video streaming and downloading large content files is much faster.

8MB-15MB download speed was typical via wireless on the PS4.

Same connection on laptop was almost double that.

Went to powerline adapters and it is now consistently double the speed.

Make sure you aren't using your ISP default DNS servers. Manually input the IP addresses of reliable / fast DNS servers. COD and other online games is ALL ABOUT PING to the host. Eliminating steps to get there is always a good thing.

SPOILER!!! ALL ONLINE GAMES HAVE LAG COMPENSATION BUILT IN. IF THEY DID NOT HAVE IT THE GAME WOULD NOT BE PLAYABLE AT ALL

Internet connections are NOT instant. Even milliseconds take up an amount of time, whether you could actually notice them or not. It's a fact of life.

The easiest way to TRY to understand lag compensation is as follows:

You have your sights up and you shoot an enemy player.

As soon as you shoot, the data is sent out of your console and through the internet to wherever the host is located.

Of course it takes MILLISECONDS, but unless the enemy is standing still the entire time, the enemy has moved from where you shot him by the time the data (telling the game that you shot at the enemy) even gets there.

So behind the scenes, the code takes into account how long it took for the data (you shooting) to reach the host. The code then goes back that amount of time and figures out where the enemy was when you shot at him.

That's why AIM ASSIST seems to move us OFF target sometimes. It's actually moving us ON Target- where the target actually is now.

Lag Comp does not benefit or hurt those with slow or fast connections. If the ping of ANY of the connected players gets slow enough, it effects EVERYONE'S GAME. That's simply LAG. All the games have built in code that disconnects players that have ping times over a certain threshold to try and prevent this result.

I have played wired versus wireless and at first I said the same thing, it seemed all the same. But over time I began noticing that being hard wired made my experience consistant, night after night whereas wireless gave me good nights and bad nights. In my opinion hard wired is the only way to go.

Your example works with your information if both players have the same ping, but the connections, and ping both affect lag compensation.

Let's say player A leaves a doorway and has a ping of 150. Player B has a ping of 50 and is slightly behind because of it. Client-side of B due to lag compensation which would give the presentation of both players at around 100 since lag compensations job is to determine what happens as each client sees it. If player B shots at Player A on their side from what they see they will be credited intropolated data or rewound data so player A was beyond that point on their side but not on Bs side.

Second example player A is following the same path as Player B they shoot at player B where they see them but because that data is extrapolated if the data doesn't match what player B does on their client side then the data is resent and the hit markers player A got doesn't count.

Let's do an example of player A and B meeting in an Alley head to head. Again the same results or standards apply to the lag compensation and the ping.

Player A will come Into the Ally and not see player B who is extrapolated due to bad connection or behind and data being sent doesn't have them that far. Player B is in the Alley their client side and guns down player A their client side due to the Intropolated data or rewinded data to compensate the same instance so lag isn't present. That's why it seems you come around the corner and get mowed down before you turned the corner, the other is why you turn a corner, and then are shot.

Is this due to lag compensation, yes it is. That's how it works so the playing field is smooth since not everyone has the same Internet. Is it faulty. That is a yes. Does it give poor connections an advantage. Yes it does. UT until someone comes out with something better it's what we have. And is the best we have.

I have heard this a thousand times poor connections are an advantage! Yet they tell you to get hard wired etc. Ghosts lag was also very bad in the beginning. I struggled to keep a decent K/D then towards the end of its run I was consistantly playing at around 2 K/D. Ofcourse by then I was playing catch up from very poor game lag etc in its first few months of being played.

Same thing is happening once again with AW. KD is taking a beating not because I dont know wtf Im doing but rather cause the game is still sorting out all its lag bs. Yet some are oblivious to the lag and running like god mode in every match so it seems. Match ups are poor as fk right now!! Just like in Ghosts in the first few months I was matched up with third world countries like mexico lol.. Consistantly poor matchmaking just like AW right now.

Just have to wait it out I guess. Unlike many gamers I do not start all over! I play one account. Have been for years and years.

I AGREE with your post - but what YOU and I understand when you say "poor connection" that you mean the slower ping to the host of that match - that makes other people think that people with slower up / down speeds get an advantage over higher up / down speeds - which isn't the case - it depends on ping to the host.

Yes it's client to client... My bad on not being clear on that... It's ping to the host and not to the server although again it has gotten alot better since last game in finding the correct host as almost no migrations every match.

It's not entirely true that lag compensation has no benefits to the laggy players, that would defeat the very definition of the term lag compensation.Take interpolation, for example, a form of lag compensation which predicts ahead of time by an amount of time equal to half the ping of the player.This means a player with a higher ping may in some instances see you before you see them.

We've updated our Privacy Policy and made changes to how we handle information we collect. You can view the revised policy here. By continuing to use Activision's websites, products or services, you acknowledge this revised Privacy Policy. This website uses "Cookies" to tailor content and marketing, and to improve and adjust user experiences. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Please see our Cookie Policy to find out more here.